Letter: Getting Started on Weatherization

Many thanks to Valley News staff writer Jon Wolper and the editors for informing the community about the Vermont Home Energy Challenge and the benefits of weatherization. I wanted to clarify one point and suggest some resources to help homeowners across the Upper Valley get started.

The Efficiency Vermont $100 discount on home energy audits is actually good throughout the year to all Vermont residents. In addition, 18 participating auditor contractors are providing an additional $50 discount off audits that are scheduled by the end of April and take place by end of June to homeowners from Upper Valley Challenge towns — Bradford, Fairlee, Hartland, Norwich, Randolph, Sharon, Strafford, Thetford, Topsham, Tunbridge, Weathersfield and Woodstock. So that’s a $150 savings if you act soon.

Setting up an audit is the first step. You can download a coupon for the $50 discount, which includes a list of the participating contractors, at www.SERG-info.org — and check out our home-efficiency calculator while you are there.

You can track your town’s progress toward its challenge goal and find contact information for your town’s challenge coordinator, who can help you get started, by hovering over your town’s name at www.efficiencyvermont.com/homeenergychallenge.

You can learn more about the Vermont Home Performance program, including the list of up to $2,000 in incentives, at www.efficiencyvermont.com/homeperformance. The electric utility companies run the Home Performance program in New Hampshire. You can learn about the program’s eligibility requirements and incentives by contacting them or clicking on the “Home Performance with Energy Star” link under “For Your Home” at www.nhsaves.com. Income-qualifying homeowners who can’t afford these services can get free energy audits and improvement services from the three community action programs serving the Upper Valley. Contact SEVCA, CVCAC (in Vermont) or Tri-County CAP (in New Hampshire) for more information. COVER and Habitat for Humanity can also provide some volunteer-assisted weatherization services.

For more information on any of these programs, contact serg@serg-info.org or 802-785-4126.

Sharon — At Town Meeting, where the Sharon Energy Committee gave a presentation about the importance of weatherizing homes, committee chairwoman Dee Gish recalled speaking to a woman whose home was often drafty, but she couldn’t think of an efficient way to seal it. “I guess it’s not widely known,” Gish said of weatherization, the process of making home energry …